With over a month left in 2023, the United States cryptocurrency industry has already set a new record in lobbying expenditures, surpassing $20 million. This figure, revealed in a recent CoinGecko report published on November 14, does not even account for Q4 numbers, indicating that the total lobbying spending for the year is likely to exceed the previous record of $22.2 million set in 2022.
The report outlines the substantial increase in lobbying budgets for U.S. crypto companies over the past few years. Between 2019 and 2020, these budgets fluctuated between $2.5 million and $3 million, accounting for less than 3% of the lobbying expenses incurred by Wall Street firms. However, in 2021, the figure surged to $8.5 million, and by 2022, it had reached an impressive $22 million. As of now, crypto lobbying spending constitutes 19.7% of Wall Street’s total lobbying expenses.
Despite the substantial increase in spending, the number of companies involved in lobbying efforts has remained relatively stable, with 56 companies in 2023 compared to 57 in the previous year. This is significantly higher than in 2021 (37 companies), 2020 (17), or 2019 (19).
Leading the pack in lobbying expenditures from 2019 to 2023 is Coinbase, having spent $7.5 million. The non-commercial Blockchain Association comes in second place, with $5.23 million, followed by Ripple in third place, with $3.46 million dedicated to crypto lobbying. Other consistent participants in lobbying efforts include the Chamber of Digital Commerce, the Bitcoin Association, and Anchorage Digital.
It is worth noting that the study excluded cases of mixed spending on both crypto and non-crypto issues. Notable entities like PayPal, JP Morgan, IBM, and other companies engaged in the digital asset economy were excluded from the analysis.
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